1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a sheet feeding apparatus, an image forming apparatus and a sheet feeding method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A sheet feeding apparatus included in a copy machine, a scanner or the like is required to feed various sizes of sheets. For example, a sheet feeding apparatus is required to feed a sheet of 914 mm long at the maximum in the shorter side of the sheet. A user of the sheet feeding apparatus sets the sheet into the precise position relative to feeding rollers by striking the edge of the sheet to the feeding rollers, and then the sheet feeding apparatus feeds the sheet which is held between the feeding rollers by rotating the feeding rollers in a predetermined rotational direction.
However, there is a possibility that a document printed on the sheet is not scanned precisely, or the document is not copied precisely, particularly in a case where the sheet is relatively wide and the user is not accustomed to set the wide sheet into the precise position.
Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-265094 (hereinafter referred to as patent document 1) discloses a sheet feeding apparatus that sets a preparation time in which a user can set sheet into a precise position even if the user is not accustomed to handle a wide sheet. The sheet feeding apparatus disclosed in patent document 1 begins to feed the sheet after informing the end of the preparation time to the user with blink of an LED or alarm.
It becomes possible to set the sheet into the precise position even if the user is not accustomed to handle the sheet by setting the preparation time before feeding the sheet.
However, according to the sheet feeding apparatus disclosed in patent document 1, it is necessary to wait for the preparation time to pass even when the user could set the sheet into the precise position immediately. Further, it is necessary to wait for the preparation time to pass every time the user sets the sheet, even when the user becomes accustom to setting a large size sheet into the precise position.
Therefore, according to the sheet feeding apparatus disclosed in patent document 1, working efficiency of the user may be lowered because of the preparation time. Moreover, the user may not be able to set the sheet into the precise position in the preparation time.